Transport – The Berlin Spectatorhttps://berlinspectator.com
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3232159402125Bulgaria: Time Travel on Railroad Trackshttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/05/18/bulgaria-time-travel-on-railroad-tracks-1/
Mon, 18 May 2020 18:04:27 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=4471In Bulgaria, nobody needs a 'Flux Capacitor' or a black hole in space to go back in time. Purchasing a train ticket will suffice.]]>

In Bulgaria, nobody needs a ‘Flux Capacitor’ or a black hole in space to go back in time. Purchasing a train ticket will suffice.

Sofia’s central station terminal was recently refurbished. It is a lot more elegant than the trains the Bulgarian operator BDZ (БДЖ) sends through the small country at the south-eastern tip of Europe. Travelers who come here to book a trip or find their connecting train should ideally be able to read Cyrillic fonts. English will not get them too far.

The first train to Burgas leaves at 6:35 a.m.. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

236 Miles in Six Hours

But the trains will, even though most of them are at least fifty years old, both the powerful looking locomotives and the dirty railroad wagons. Entering the train to Burgas at the Black Sea throws the traveler back for decades, into a world in which trains were still trains and traveling was still traveling.

Only 380 kilometers (236 miles) need to be covered, but the trip takes six hours. On many stretches the train will be struggling along at walking speed because the ancient tracks built during the times of communist Bulgaria do not support more. On the more modern stretches, the engine driver will try to make up for it.

At Shivashevo station, things have not changed in 120 years. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Trip with a View

The train is the means of transport which lets travelers see the real Bulgaria. Little villages will move by the window, many of them are abandoned. The many Roma slums, on the other hand, seem to be crammed. And Bulgaria’s beautiful countryside is always a great photo object.

The station manager and the cleaning lady in Tazha have it all under control. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Because of ongoing renovations, the trains between Sofia and Burgas take deviations. They partially follow one-track routes. One of those leads via Plovdiv and Stara Zagora to the Black Sea. The other one, which takes its passengers through Bulgaria’s Valley of Roses, along the Balkan mountain range, is even nicer.

Karlovo is part of Bulgaria’s Valley of Roses. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

UFO in the Distance

The experienced traveler will be able to spot Buzludzha, an iconic mountain top building erected by the communists, which looks like a UFO on the cover of a 1960-s science fiction novel. Those who take this trip in spring will see millions of flowers on large fields.

Roma slums can be seen on the way. Lots of them. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Forget the fact that the train compartments, even in what the BDZ calls First Class, are dirty as hell. The toilets are terrible. So are the seats. Some doors do not close. But the beauty of the country outside this train makes the traveler forget about these secondary aspects.

The old locomotive did its job without complaining. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Dangerous Tunnel

At some point the train needs to climb hills. The Russian-built locomotive might not be the fastest one on Earth, but it does manage somehow. Then, a tight tunnel would suddenly turn the entire world into darkness. Obviously, this tunnel was made for freight trains. Any passenger who sticks his or her head out of the window will have it ripped right off, because the wall of the tunnel is only an inch away.

Details in what the Bulgarians call First Class. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

In small towns such as Shivachevo, the train stations are so cute. They look like they have not changed in 120 years. This is time travel at its best, without the DeLorean or the ‘Flux Capacitor’.

Time travel is possible in Bulgaria. Even the Lada looks new. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Traveling by train in Bulgaria is inexpensive, in part because the state of the trains is terrible, but mainly because, in the poorest E.U. country, those who normally choose to travel by train earn some 300 Dollars a month if they are lucky. A one-way ticket from Sofia to Burgas, in what they call First Class, is 28 Leva, the equivalent of 14 Euro (16 Dollars or 12 Pounds). No trip back in time is cheaper. And few provide as much beauty as this one.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income.As of May 7th, 2020, we made an average of 74 Euro per month since starting the project, which is far from enough.Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. If you like what we do and you want to support us, you can do soby clicking here(Paypal).Thank you so much!

]]>4471Berlin: The Most Romantic Free Ferry Ride Everhttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/04/berlin-the-most-romantic-free-ferry-ride-ever-1/
Wed, 04 Mar 2020 08:51:00 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=2015In Berlin, getting away from the office, the noise and the overcrowded city center once in a while is a good idea. One way is to jump on the Wannsee ferry.]]>

In Berlin, getting away from the office, the noise and the overcrowded city center once in a while is a good idea. One way is to jump on the Wannsee ferry.

Berlin’s two city train systems, its trams and buses move a lot of people around. The mostly yellow vehicles operated by the state-owned public transport company BVG are omnipresent in the city.

But the BVG’s tickets are also valid for the ferries they run. To Berliners who live in certain areas along the Spree or Dahme riverbanks, mostly in the outskirts, ferries are a regular means of transport. To tourists, they are more than that.

There are three all-season ferries which can be used with regular BVG public transport tickets. Two of them just cross rivers, the Spree and the Dahme, while the ferry on Wannsee lake is definitely a full-fledged excursion destination.

For those who have BVG day tickets (or weekly or monthly ones), so-called ‘Berlin Welcome Cards’ or ‘Berlin Passes’ with the public transport option, those trips will not cost a dime, since they are included.

Ferry F-11: Wilhelmstrand – Baumschulenweg

In the south-eastern part of Berlin, this ferry connects the lower end of Spreepark to the Wilhelmstrand quarter. Here, people live in cute little houses and huts. They lead quiet lives in this area of tiny streets.

“It may not be beautiful down here, but quiet”, a lady says. The 50-year-old has always lived in this quarter. It is the place she knows and loves. To her, the Spree river and the ferry seem to be the center of the universe.

These days, she is disappointed, because the operator BVG is getting ready to scrap this ferry line after 113 years of service. It has been taking people back and forth since 1906. In case they really get rid of it, the residents in the Wilhelmstrand quarter will have to walk all the way to the tram, and they would not be connected to the park on the other side anymore.

Berlin ferry rides are fun. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

A little pub is located on the lady’s side of the river. Here, the residents organize their fight for the ferry which they definitely want to keep. There is no traffic light, no supermarket, no concert hall and no gas station. But they do have a pretty impressive cigarette vending machine.

Sweating joggers run back and forth on the path in Spreepark, across the river. Most of them wear large headphones, as if they wanted to get rid of the silence in this green area. Another two ladies jog by, just as the little ferry lands at the tiny pier.

The captain, a lady, is very unfriendly. Maybe she is just having a bad day. Every trip across the river takes her about four minutes. Her ferry’s two stinking Diesel engines are always running. Either they press the boat to the pier or they propel the vessel to the other side.

But when there is no ice on the river, they use a boat powered by the sun, with electric engines. It makes this trip even more sustainable than two bowls of gluten-free musli and a box of politically correct nutrition bars.

From the center of Berlin, getting to the S-Bahn station ‘Baumschulenweg‘ is easy. So is switching to bus line 170, which goes to the pier within two to three minutes.

Ferry F-12: Grünau, Wassersportallee – Müggelbergallee

This one will take the professional Berlin tourist with his or her Nikon camera, mineral water bottle, sun hat, alternative city guide book and Led Zeppelin t-shirt to the Grünau S-Bahn station located in Berlin’s ‘far east’. From there, just walk along Wassersportallee until you hit something big and wet. Those who do not want to waste their shoe soles on this side of the river can take the tram.

Ferry F-12 operates every 15 to 20 minutes. This Saturday, its captain behaved like the Chairman of the State Council. He complained to the author who had photographed and filmed the boat while it was coming in. His speech in front of all passengers was almost as good as the author’s counter speech.

So, whenever this captain is on duty, the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ he thinks he is commanding becomes his private property. Nobody will take pictures of this tourist sensation. Period. But threatening him with a phone call to the State Security might shut him up.

After a 4-minute ride, a beautiful part of the posh Köpenick quarter appears at the horizon. Old, beautiful and expensive villas in even more beautiful gardens can be admired here, during a pleasant walk. Just don’t get run over by all the cyclists on the sidewalk. They are allowed to use it because of the tram tracks.

Ferry F-10: Grosser Wannsee Lake

This ferry leaves from the pier at the Bismarck statue located very close to the S-Bahn stop Wannsee, which it connects to Kladow, a picturesque quarter at the lake’s other end. Little restaurants welcome visitors there, right at the water.

In this case, the 4.4 kilometer trip (2.7 miles) takes about 20 minutes on the little ‘Wannsee’ ship. This ferry can carry up to 300 people and a billion bicycles. The captain, an old sea wolf with a grey beard, is a nice guy. He is the only captain out of three the author of these lines did not clash with. After 20 years of commanding and steering this boat, it is safe to say the guy is experienced.

Recently, he had two helpers. A Syrian guy and a Spaniard who loves to be called “elcapitán“. It puts a bright smile on his face. Si, una sonrisa grande. Es buena gente.

Taking this ferry trip shortly before sundown is great, especially on a clear day in February. The colors in the sky and the reflections on the water are simply out of this world. They look photoshopped, but they are actually not.

If this is not the most romantic thing of all times, what is? Even though nobody is allowed to stand out in the open, bow or aft, this ferry ride calls for millions of pictures and video sequences.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>2015Germany: Deutsche Bahn to Add New Berlin Connectionshttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/10/11/germany-deutsche-bahn-to-add-new-berlin-connections/
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 15:51:00 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=9406Deutsche Bahn, Germany's largest long-distance railroad company, will increase its number of connections from Berlin to western Germany and vice versa. The changes will reflect in the new schedule which will be valid starting in December.]]>

Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s largest long-distance railroad company, will increase its number of connections from Berlin to western Germany and vice versa. The changes will reflect in the new schedule which will be valid starting in December.

Soon, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will be offering hourly fast train connections to Munich and Frankfurt am Main. Those will be covered by DB’s ICE Sprinters, which are lightning fast. They race the country like crazy, with up to 300 km/h (186 mph).

Additional ICE Trains to Cologne

ICE Sprinters stop in the central stations of large cities only. This aspect and their speed leads to short travel times. The Berlin – Munich route leads through Erfurt, and the one to Frankfurt via Braunschweig. No driver can win this race in any car, not even in a Lamborghini Sian.

On the route Berlin – Erfurt – Frankfurt, additional ICE Sprinters will be in service. The same applies to to the route from Berlin to Cologne via Hanover. On some of the routes mentioned, Deutsche Bahn already has hourly connections, but not all day long, meaning there are longer breaks in between. (Note: Article continues below ‘Related Post’ teasers.)

In two years from now, DB intends to come up with the next giant leap for mankind. The frequency of ICE connections between the two largest cities in Germany, namely Berlin and Hamburg, will be 30 minutes. Deutsche Bahn covers the distance of 280 kilometers (174 miles) in 1:44 hours at this stage, which is actually not that fast, in comparison.

Vienna and Warsaw

There is even more: DB will also increase the number of InterCity trains in eastern Germany. The company intends to connect Dresden to Berlin and Rostock. InterCity trains are not quite as fast as ICEs, but faster than regional trains.

ICE trains may not be faster than French, Chinese or Japanese bullet trains, but they are fast enough. Plus they are comfty. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

The new connection which is supposed to commence in mid-December, has a positive secondary effect on small towns in eastern Germany, including Oranienburg, Elsterwerda and Neustrelitz. So far, they do not have any long-distance connections, but soon they will.

You guessed right: There are even more good news. Early next year, DB will extend its cooperation with the main Czech and Austrian railway companies. As a result, travelers will have splendid new connections from Berlin to Prague and Vienna and from Berlin to Warsaw.

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]]>9406Germany: Domestic Flights and Greta Thunberg’s Influencehttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/07/29/germany-domestic-flights-and-greta-thunbergs-influence/
Mon, 29 Jul 2019 06:40:55 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=6493Berlin politicians who have ridiculed the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and her movement Fridays for Future should probably think again. She and her supporters recently called for an end to domestic flights. Just weeks later, the political Berlin is discussing the subject.]]>

Even though their share of CO2 emissions is very low, a discussion about dumping domestic flights within Germany has begun in Berlin. Parties on both the left and the right seem to want to get rid of those flights. But their approaches are partially very different.

Germany may be a relatively large European country, but comparing it to Russia, Canada or the United States shows the country is actually tiny. It would fit into Texas twice, meaning Germany is not much larger than a medium rare T-bone steak.

From Hamburg to Frankfurt

Now that the country’s size has been established, the next question would be how Germans travel from A to B, let’s say from Hamburg to Frankfurt. By car, those 498 kilometers (309 miles) will typically be covered in five hours, from door to door. Deutsche Bahn’s ‘ICE’ bullet train takes exactly four hours.

Taking a Lufthansa flight from Hamburg to Frankfurt takes some 45 minutes. By the time the passengers finally get their natural orange juice 15 minutes into the flight, it is almost time to prepare for landing. But there is the travel time to Hamburg Airport in the city’s ‘Fuhlsbüttel’ borough, and there is the average waiting time from check-in to takeoff, plus all the waiting at the baggage claim. This means, all in all, a flight might be an hour faster than the train.

This leads to the big question: Does Germany need domestic flights? There is a growing number of politicians in Berlin, including far-left representatives, their center-left and Green colleagues, and even conservatives who say no. They want to scrap domestic flights for good.

Greta’s Influence in Berlin

Berlin politicians who have ridiculed the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and the environmentalist movement Fridays for Future the activist created, should probably think again. She and her supporters recently demanded an end to domestic flights. In Sweden, her call to “stay on the ground” already has an effect. Just weeks later, the political Berlin is discussing the subject.

While the discussion carries on, a related subject just popped up: Since the reunification of Germany some three decades ago, not all parts of all ministries have moved from the old West German capital Bonn to the capital of reunited Germany, which is Berlin.

This means lots of officials need to commute between Bonn and Berlin, which translates into tens of thousands of domestic flights per year. There is an exact number: Ministry officials have taken 229,116 of those flights in 2018 alone. That’s a whole lot.

‘The Left’ Wants Nationalization of Airlines

Some voices in Berlin are already calling for moving the rest of the ministry divisions to Berlin. Others are saying those commuting officials should use the ‘ICE’ bullet train instead. Except there is no direct connection. The fastest train ride available from Bonn to Berlin takes 4 hours and 32 minutes.

While that side discussion is continuing, the main argument is being fought out. As it turns out, there are very different answers to the question of how exactly Germany should get rid of domestic flights.

On the far left, Bernd Riexinger of the party ‘Die Linke’ (‘The Left’) told the ‘Berliner Morgenpost’ daily, all airlines should be nationalized. An industry the services of which had ramifications of this kind for the environment needed to be controlled by the state, he said.

Mind Games and Old Suggestions

Hardly surprisingly, Riexinger’s suggestion was harshly criticized. The liberal Berlin Bundestag MP Marco Buschmann accused him of abusing “the ecologic sensitivity of people for neo-socialist mind games.” Buschmann was not alone with that opinion.

The Greens want to make travelling by train more attractive, in order to move people away from domestic flights. This is what their chairman Robert Habeck said. Some conservatives agree with him. They pleaded for decreasing or getting rid of all taxes connected to the purchase of train tickets.

This is something Germany’s Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer of the ultra-conservative Bavarian party CSU had already suggested months ago. Back then, his Social Democratic (SPD) colleague Treasury Secretary Olaf Scholz had agreed to discussing that kind of approach.

In September, the federal government will come up with a climate protection plan. Steps concerning domestic flights might be part of it. Or maybe not, because those flights only contribute 0.3 percent to Germany’s CO2 emissions.

]]>6493Germany to Introduce Autobahn Toll Next Yearhttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/04/26/germany-to-introduce-autobahn-toll-next-year/
Fri, 26 Apr 2019 09:55:40 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=4099According to estimates, the state will probably earn around 500 million Euro (557 million Dollars or 432 million Pounds) per year through its new road toll for passenger cars. To critics, that kind of money is not nearly enough to justify the whole thing.]]>

Update June 18th, 2019:The European Court of Justice stops the planned German toll for passenger cars, saying it would discriminate drivers from abroad.READ NEW ARTICLE ON THIS SUBJECT

Traveling Europe by car is an adventure. There are so many countries on the “old continent”. Some of them are tiny, and the bigger ones are still small, with the exception of Russia. Every country is different, also what their road networks and policies are concerned.

Many countries on the continent charge drivers for using their freeways (motorways) and highways (country roads). Bulgaria, the country with the worst roads in Europe, has a toll system. So do all other Eastern European countries. In Bulgaria, drivers pay for millions of potholes, in Hungary for a sophisticated freeway system.

Some Western European countries, such as Belgium and Denmark, charge drivers for the use of tunnels and bridges. While tolls in Italy depend on how many kilometers the person drives, Austria and Switzerland charge per month or year. In the latter two countries, additional tolls have to be paid for mountain passes and long tunnels in the Alps.

In yet another European country called Germany, there were no tolls at all, for decades. Then, in 2005, a toll for trucks weighing more than 12 tons was introduced, while drivers of regular passenger cars did not have to pay a dime, and still don’t. Germany is the only country without any speed limit on its freeways, and one of the few without tolls for cars.

But, in both cases, changes are around the corner. While Germany’s Transport Minister Andres Scheuer says introducing a general speed limit, like in all other countries on the face of the Earth, was “against common sense”, the rest of the country knows it is only a question of time until the Autobahn race is over.

Racing down the Autobahn will cost money soon. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

Regarding a toll for cars, things are even more complicated. For decades, the subject has come up on a regular basis. In 2013, the ultra-conservative CSU, which is the Bavarian version of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party CDU, used the subject on the campaign trail.

Back then, a few weeks before the general elections, the CSU’s former chairman Horst Seehofer, who is still Germany’s Minister of the Interior today, said he wanted a ‘Foreigner Toll’, meaning a toll for non-Germans only. He said it was a matter of fairness. Not much later, Merkel said there would not be any toll for cars, not with her as Chancellor. The consequence of all of this was a big argument between ‘sister parties’.

The Bavarians wanted to protect German citizens from their own toll by decreasing car taxes accordingly, meaning they would not really have paid more than before.

At first glance, the CSU did have a point with its populist approach. Why would Germans pay tolls in Austria and other countries, while Austrians and nationals of all other countries did not pay anything for using German roads? On the other hand, there were problems:

What about drivers from countries without tolls? Why would they be ‘punished’ as well?

Some argued the cost of introducing tolls for passenger cars was too high.

Other said this kind of approach discriminated non-Germans.

The latter aspect was something the European Union agreed with. Once the CSU had managed to get its ‘Foreigner Toll’ into the coalition agreement it signed with Mrs. Merkel and the center-left SPD, Germany argued with the European Commission, since that idea was pretty much the opposite of the European one.

A lawsuit for breach of contract against Germany was initiated by the E.U.. As a result, a new law was written in 2016, which did not discriminate non-Germans anymore. First of all the title ‘Foreigner Toll’ was thrown overboard. Secondly, the toll amounts were itemized in a different way. The ecology aspect was included.

This means Germans will not automatically pay less because they are Germans, but drivers of cleaner cars will. As it looks now, the price for annual toll vignettes for German citizens will depend on the question whether they have a gasoline or Diesel engine, and on its cubic capacity. For foreign nationals, there will be vignettes valid for ten days, two months or a year.

Many Germans and organizations such as the General German Automobile Association (ADAC) are still furious. The ADAC says tolls in Germany were useless, since only 5.2 percent of all vehicles on the German Autobahn were registered abroad. Besides, foreigners were already paying their dues through this country’s high fuel taxes.

But it’s too late. The toll will be introduced in October of 2020. The Court of Justice of the European Union does not see any discrimination anymore. But those discussions in Germany continue anyway.

The latest point of criticism is the amount of money spent on preparing the introduction of the new toll. According to the Berlin-based ‘Tagesspiegel’ daily, the state will have spent 128 million Euro (143 million Dollars or 111 Pounds Sterling) by the end of this year, for advisers, assessors and other items.

Also the choice of contractors, who will actually charge drivers, is being criticized. They are CTS Eventim, a company known for selling concert tickets, and the Austrian company Kapsch TrafficCom, which is experienced in the field of tolls. The contract will last for a minimum of 12 years. It has a volume of 2 billion Euro (2.2 billion Dollars or 1.7 billion Pounds).

Germany’s Federal Audit Office is already on the case. But Angela Merkel’s government is convinced everything is fine. According to estimates, the state will probably earn around 500 million Euro (557 million Dollars or 432 million Pounds) per year through its new road toll for passenger cars. To critics, that kind of money is not nearly enough to justify the whole thing.

]]>4099Berlin: Replacement of Tracks Leads to Closures on ‘S-Bahn’ Ringhttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/04/04/berlin-replacement-of-tracks-forces-closures-1/
Thu, 04 Apr 2019 13:34:32 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=3442After three warning strikes at Berlin’s main public transport provider BVG and years of construction-related delays and closures, residents will have to put up with more of the latter. Starting on Monday, April 8th, Deutsche Bahn will be replacing tracks on the eastern part of the S-Bahn (city train) ring. For six weeks, the ring […]]]>

After three warning strikes at Berlin’s main public transport provider BVG and years of construction-related delays and closures, residents will have to put up with more of the latter. Starting on Monday, April 8th, Deutsche Bahn will be replacing tracks on the eastern part of the S-Bahn (city train) ring.

For six weeks, the ring will be interrupted. Passengers were advised to bypass the construction areas using operational U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains as well as other means of transport, such as buses. Deutsche Bahn said the tracks were old and needed to be renewed now. Last time they were refurbished in the 1980s. Main railway tracks will also be affected.

The S-Bahn is lightning fast when it is operational. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

At first, the tracks between the S-Bahn stations ‘Greifswalder Straße’ and ‘Schönhäuser Allee’ will be removed and replaced. The 160,000 passengers who usually travel through that stretch on S-Bahn trains on lines S41, S42, S8 or S85 every single day will have to find alternatives. Many of them will have to expect prolonged travel times.

Starting on April 15th, it will be the stretch between ‘Schönhäuser Allee’ and ‘Gesundbrunnen’. Until further notice, the S9 line will operate every twenty minutes only, also during the week.

When the S-Bahn trains are operational, they usually depart every three minutes during rush hour, every ten minutes during regular hours or every 20 minutes on Sundays and holidays.

Apart from regular train tracks, several switches and a wall will be refurbished during the construction period. The same applies to thick underground cables and train signals. Deutsche Bahn does not want to annoy residents around the city ring. That is why the loud part of the job will be done during the day. At night, construction workers will only transport material.

Some S-Bahn stations will be refurbished as well.

On May 20th, things will reportedly return back to normal, at least on the eastern part of the S-Bahn ring. The construction does have a price tag. It will cost 9 million Euro (10 million Dollars or 7.7 million Pounds).

All in all, Deutsche Bahn will invest more than half a billion Euro (560 million Dollars or 430 million Pounds) in Berlin and the province of Brandenburg alone, were tracks for inter city trains needs to be replaced. Trips on several train routes between western Germany and Berlin will take up to three hours longer during the construction period.

]]>3442Germany: Police Wage War Against Speedershttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/04/03/germany-police-wages-war-against-speeders-1/
Wed, 03 Apr 2019 18:29:31 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=3367German police set up numerous mobile radar traps on roads all over the country today. The objective was to fight speeding, which is one of the main causes for deadly accidents. ]]>

German police set up numerous mobile radar traps on roads all over the country today. The objective was to fight speeding, which is one of the main causes for deadly accidents.

Ten of the sixteen federal states within Germany took part. They are Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. In some of these provinces the war against speeding will continue on Thursday.

Hamburg will have its speed trap day on Thursday. The five remaining federal states, including Berlin, are not taking part.

In Brandenburg alone, police had caught as many as 843 speeding drivers until noon. Radar traps were spread all over the province, at 180 spots, according to German media. The fastest speeder they wrote a ticket for was going 162 km/h (101 mph) in an 80 km/h (50 mph) zone.

Germany’s speed trap day is part of a so-called action week police in 30 European countries are working on. Apart from catching and fining speeders, police want to raise awareness regarding the deadly consequences of speeding.

During a similar speed trap day last year, police in eight German provinces caught more than 37,000 speeders. Many of them went three times as fast as allowed.

Within cities, towns and villages, speeding fines are 15 to 680 Euro (17 to 765 Dollars or 13 to 582 Pounds), depending how much the individual exceeds the maximum speed. Germany also has a system of points which are given to drivers for speeding. If they accumulate too many points, they will lose their driver’s licenses.

Drivers who exceed the maximum speed by 41 km/h (25 mph) or more, will lose their license for at least one month. In extreme cases, they will have to take special driving lessons and start from scratch.

In 2018, more than 3,200 people died in car crashes, many of which would not have happened without the speeding aspect.

]]>3367Berlin: New Talks Between BVG and Verdi Unionhttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/03/18/berlin-new-talks-between-bvg-and-verdi-union/
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 07:13:18 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=2927It is unclear whether the fact that this round of talks was not announced as "negotiations", but as "talks", will improve the chances for results or at least some kind of approximation. More warning strikes are a possibility, according to Verdi, meaning there is pressure.]]>

After two walkouts, one of February 15th and one on March 14th, which disrupted traffic in Berlin and created problems for hundreds of thousands of residents, representatives of the public transport provider BVG and negotiators sent by Verdi, a large union, are about to meet again, at the BVG’s headquarters.

It is unclear whether the fact that this round of talks was not announced as “negotiations”, but as “talks”, will improve the chances for results or at least some kind of approximation. More warning strikes are a possibility, according to Verdi, meaning there is pressure.

During the walkout on February 15th, the entire BVG had been out of service. Neither buses nor trams or the U-Bahn, which is the German equivalent of the metro, subway or underground in the English-speaking world, transported anyone. Berliners used bicycles and driving pools. Somehow they got to work and to school, but it was difficult.

On March 14th, when only the bus drivers quit working for an entire day, this lead to another chaos, in which especially Berliners living in the outskirts ran into issues. Other Berliners needed to walk a lot, in order to get to the next U-Bahn station without buses.

Prior to today’s talks, Verdi’s chief negotiator Jeremy Arndt told the ‘Berliner Morgenpost’ daily, his side expected an improvement of the offer the employers had made. Weekly working hours, bonuses and salaries for 14,500 employees are being discussed.

This is what the BVG is offering, at this stage:

An 11 percent increase for employees in the lower pay grades, from January 1st, retroactively

A 7 percent increase for everyone else

For all of this, the BVG is ready to spend an additional 65 million Euro per year.

This is what Verdi wants:

A decrease of weekly working hours to 36.5 with no loss of pay

A one-time payment to all employed Verdi members of 500 Euro (567 Dollars or 427 Pounds) per person

Christmas bonuses for new hires

The union wants the BVG to refrain from applying what it calls a deterioration of labor conditions, e.g. by shortening breaks for drivers.

So far, the BVG employers reject the demands, saying implementing them would be far too expensive and require the employment of hundreds of new people.

In the meantime, new strikes are a possibility. The next one could be announced as early as this week. Berliners might have to prepare for more inconveniences.

]]>2927Berlin: Bus Driver Strike Affects Entire Cityhttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/03/14/berlin-bus-driver-strike-affects-entire-city/
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:10:07 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=2801In the early morning, some trains could not accept any more passengers since they were full. This kind of situation is a regular occurrence in Tokyo or Mexico City, but not in Berlin.]]>

Contrary to reports in some German-language media, the warning strike hundreds of bus drivers participated in on Thursday affected the U-Bahn, Berlin’s subway or underground, as well. On the lines U7 and U8, passengers had to wait a long time. In the early morning, some trains could not accept any more passengers since they were full. This kind of situation is a regular occurrence in Tokyo or Mexico City, but not in Berlin.

In train stations, audio messages by Berlin’s public transport provider BVG said the irregular U-Bahn traffic was connected to the bus driver walkout. Passengers were asked to be patient. Stations filled up fast, most U-Bahn trains were full even in the late morning.

With its latest strike, the Verdi union wants to put pressure on the BVG, which is rejecting the union’s demands. In the first three rounds of negotiations no breakthrough or approximation was achieved.

Verdi wants a reduction of working hours to 36.5 hours, a one-time payment for all 14,500 employees and Christmas bonuses for new hires. According to the BVG, all demands combined would cost 150 million Euro (169 million Dollars or 128 million Pounds Sterling) per year. The state-owned company does not want to spend more than an extra 65 million Euro (73 million Dollars or 62 million Pounds Sterling) per year.

Bus lines serviced by private companies were operational on Thursday, but Berlin did feel the effects of the strike. Within the city ring, many Berliners were forced to walk a lot, to use their bikes in rather wet weather, to spend money on taxis or to use their own. Traffic in many areas was tight, especially this morning.

In parts of the outskirts of Berlin, many residents mainly rely on bus connections. Today, they needed to choose an alternative means of transport. In the eastern part of the city, trams were the transportation of choice in many cases.

It is the second time in a month that Berlin needs to put up with a BVG warning strike. Many Berliners do support the union’s demands and activities, others do not.

Passengers complained that the BVG app, which is being used by tens of thousands of Berliners, showed bus connections today, even though most bus lines were not operational due to the walkout. To some tourists and residents, who might not have read any newspapers, the strike was a bad surprise.

Berlin now fears yet another all-out BVG strike, which seems likely at this point. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for March 28th.

]]>2801Germany: Hard Times for the Good Old Taxihttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/02/19/germany-hard-times-for-the-good-old-taxi/
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:08:44 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=2259The ministry told The Berlin Spectator, it wanted to implement plans announced in the coalition agreement between Angela Merkel's conservative CDU, its Bavarian sister party CSU and the center-left SPD. This was about "modernizing public transport". ]]>

Public transport is one of the backbones of Germany. It takes people to work, meaning it supports the economy which it is also part of. It creates jobs and income, which translate into buying power. It also makes people independent.

You don’t have a driving license? Hop on the bus. You want to read the paper during the ride? Take the train. You need to get there faster? Buy a ticket and board the tram. Too drunk to drive? Or there is no bus connection? Call a taxi.

Public transport in Germany is relatively well organized. There is some kind of public transport at almost every single spot in the country. Private companies and state-owned ones provide rides of all kinds. Ticket prices do differ though.

Buses, trains, trams, taxis. All in all, things could be perfect if the enemy was not coming closer and closer, from the perspective of some. Its name is change. It looks like Germany’s public transport is about to change for good. It already has, to a certain extent. And more will probably be happening.

While the kind of change the Ministry of Transport in Berlin is working on sounds like good news to many players, it does not to the taxi business. This element of public transport never changed itself. It hardly adapted to the digital world or to anything. Now it is afraid it might be run over.

The taxi business is already licking its wounds because it was attacked by Uber. Even though Uber and other services of its kind are limited to what they are allowed to offer in Germany, the taxi business took a big hit when its competition started spreading.

In the United States, anyone can book a private citizen via Uber who will take a passenger from A to B. In Germany, things are more complicated or regulated. Anyone who officially drives passengers needs a special drivers license called ‘Personenbeförderungsschein‘. Yes, a word with 26 letters. Also Uber vehicles need to return to base after one person or group was transported. They are not allowed to pick up new passengers before doing so. Not in Germany. And not yet.

In case the Ministry of Transport in Berlin is successful in what it announced it would do, some regulations might fall and hurt taxi businesses even more. At least that is what its representatives say.

The ministry told The Berlin Spectator, it wanted to implement plans announced in the coalition agreement between Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU, its Bavarian sister party CSU and the center-left SPD. This was about “modernizing public transport”.

…. make sure there is a “fair balance between the different forms of transport”.

…. make sure “the taxi and rental car business can profit from regulatory relief” while making sure municipalities continue to have the right to apply changes of their choosing.

…. strengthen on-demand transport services such as driving pools and on-demand-buses and taxis by removing obstacles in existing regulations.

All in all, the German Ministry of Transport intends to satisfy the public transport needs, to reduce individual transport in cities and to make sure there is enough public transport in rural areas.

Uber is a modern means of transport. Will the service kill the traditional taxi? Photo: Uber

The German Association for the Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP) disagrees and harshly criticized the government’s plans. Those were “a catastrophe” designed to “wipe out the taxi business.” In Berlin, where 8,200 taxis offer their services, the BZP announced a protest in front of the Ministry of Transport, which will take place this Thursday.

But the government does not seem to be too impressed. The ministry in charge says it was “working on implementing the coalition agreement.” Its goal was to work on “social, ecological and qualitative standards” as well as “a modernization due to the progressing digitization.”

At this stage the ministry is busy talking to the parliamentary groups. The speed it does things at is a lot faster than any bus, tram, train, taxi or Uber vehicle moves.

In the meantime, more players are trying to enter the public transport market and its periphery. This includes car-sharing companies some of which are owned or co-owned by Germany’s large car manufacturers.

In 2013, the intercity bus business was liberalized. Until then, buses were only allowed to transport passengers from or to Berlin. The old law passed by the Nazis was supposed to protect the trains. It was scrapped.